Jiegu Temple

　　Situated on Jiegu Mountain east of Jiegu Town in Yushu, it is known as “Jiegu Dunzhuling” in Tibetan, meaning “Jiegu Land of Fulfillment.” As the principal temple of the Sakya sect in Qinghai Province, its main structures include: two scripture halls, 220 monk dormitories, and the main building “Duwen Zhoujia Cuo,” which can accommodate 100 monks for chanting. The preaching courtyard, the Great Hall, the Maitreya Hall, and the Jiana-Wenbao courtyards each have their own distinctive features. It is home to the “World’s Largest Mani Stone Pile.” The Mani stones, inscribed with the six-syllable mantra “Om Mani Padme Hum,” which translates to “Oh, the holy Buddha on the lotus throne!” Some Mani stones are also engraved with sacred symbols or Buddha images. Countless Mani stones are arranged to form a wall-like structure. There are currently 260 million Mani stones, forming an entire city of Mani stones. The stone walls and alleyways are adorned with colorful prayer flags featuring mantras and Buddha images, and a red stupa stands in the center of the stone city. Jiegu Temple is located east of Jiegu Town and is widely renowned across Tibetan regions in China for its magnificent architecture, large monastic community, rich cultural relics, and numerous eminent monks and disciples. Its halls and dormitories are spread out in a picturesque layout atop the hill. The Mani stone pile of Jiegu Temple is world-famous. The first Jamyang Rinpoche settled in Xinzhai Village, east of the town, in his later years and built a Mani stone pile there, known as the “Jiangna Mani Stone Pile” or “Xinzhai Mani Stone Pile.” Over time, this Mani stone pile has grown immensely in size—over 2.5 billion Mani stones have been piled here over the past 200 years, making it the “World’s Largest Mani Stone Pile” and an outstanding representation of Tibetan religious culture.

　　The temple is built against the mountain, with halls and dormitories arranged in a scattered fashion. Historically, it has been the principal Sakya sect temple in northern Yushu. On December 1, 1937, the 9th Panchen Lama, Choekyi Nyima, passed away here. Jamyang Rinpoche is the most prominent lama of the temple and maintained very close ties with inland China, hence he was referred to as “Jiangna Zhugu” (meaning “Han Chinese lama”). Jamyang Rinpoche uniquely created over 100 types of dances known as “Duoding Qiuzhuo,” which helped establish Yushu as the “Land of Song and Dance.”